Developmental Center Resident Dies Of Hypothermia Prompting Lawsuit
The estate of a Developmental Center resident who died in December 2009 has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit; the claim is somewhat bizarre and, if proven true would have to constitute one of the worst assisted living abuse cases in recent memory as the suit alleged that the gentleman in question froze to death while in the state-run facility’s care as a result of neglect and abuse.
The suit alleges that 58-year-old James Hollis Jr., died Dec. 11, 2009, after he was taken to Virtua Memorial in Mount Holly with hypothermia, a broken hip and several broken ribs.
The lawsuit said staff at the Route 72 center failed to recognize that Hollis, who had been developmentally disabled since birth, had a broken hip that morning when he awoke and also had difficulty dressing and standing up. Hollis was found minimally responsive, unable to stand, hypothermic, and with feet “very cold to the touch.”
According the lawsuit when Mr. Hollis presented at the closest hospital his core body temperature was only 84 degrees and about one liter of blood had accumulated in his left hip from the fracture,
The Medical Examiner’s Office has opined that his eventual death was caused by hypothermia, and that the untreated hip fracture.
A 2001 report by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services also detailed deficiencies at the center, notably understaffing.
